The Monkey Man of Bear Hollow
by thoth-anubis
Summary: AU Monkey Fist captures a creature in the back woods of Tennessee, and adopts him as his heir, but things aren't necessarily as they seem.
1. 1: Prologue

**The Monkey Man of Bear Hollow**

**Disclaimers:** I neither own, nor intend to profit from, any of the characters or situations used in this work that have been derived from the Disney original series "Kim Possible." 

**Spoiler Warning:** None as such in this chapter, beyond some vague references to the villain Monkey Fist's history. 

**Author's Note:** This is an alternate universe story : at some point in the show's continuity, something different happened, and events and situations progressed differently from that point forward. Over the course of the story it will become obvious what the difference is in this case. In addition, since this generates an entire alternate history, scenes and references from various episodes will appear out of sequence, and in different situations, or with different outcomes, in service to the new timeline. 

**Author's Note 2:** Slightly revised version; tweaked a few sentences, made a few references more direct. More importantly, I think I've finally got the HTML in a format that won't remove.

**

Chapter 1: Prologue

**

The trilling beeps of the Kimmunicator's connection tones brought Kim Possible to an abrupt halt in the crowded hallway of Middleton High. Ignoring the mass of her fellow students as it swirled and eddied around her as they hurried to their next class, the teen hero drew the blue-green device from the side pocket of her cargo pants and pressed a small button on the front of the hand-held unit. 

A hint of static appeared on the small view screen attached to the device, as a real-time connection was established, then cleared as rapidly as it had developed. With its disappearance, a child's smiling face grinned back from the glowing display. 

"What's the sitch, Wade?" Kim asked, her expression tightening into a serious demeanor. 

"It's Monkey Fist, Kim," the heavyset youth replied, his voice clearly audible despite the noise in the crowded corridors. After pausing to take a sip of soda from the straw poking from the top of a disposable cup, he added, "He's been spotted in the Misty Mountains." 

The teen cheerleader tried to remember her geography, but found herself unable to place the geological feature. "Georgia?" she guessed. 

"South-eastern Tennessee, actually," Wade smiled. 

Kim shrugged. "I was close. So what's his interest in Tennessee? I don't think monkeys are native to the area, and I think I'd remember hearing about a monkey temple in the US." 

Wade's grin broadened. "It's not a monkey he's after, exactly, but local legend says there's a half-man half-ape living in the woods there." His fingers danced on the keyboard and a half dozen images of newspaper articles flashed on the screen, the banner headlines variations on the common theme of "Monkey-Man Sighted Near Reservoir" or "Monkey-Man Robs Convenience Store." 

Kim blinked in confusion while her expression gradually shifted to outright disbelief as she contemplated Wade's comments and slide show. "Monkey Fist is chasing Bigfoot?" 

"Some kind of Monkey-Foot, actually," Wade smirked. "According to the papers, anyway." 

"That certainly explains his interest," Kim mumbled. "Who would have thought there could be someone in the world that makes Doctor Drakken look normal?" 

"Don't discount the stories entirely, Kim," Wade cautioned. "I've read the articles, and accessed the state police records dealing with the investigations they've done into the incidents mentioned in the newspapers. Believe it or not, Monkey Fist may actually be on to something... There's definitely some_thing_ or some_one_ in those woods, even if it's not Bigfoot." 

"Right..." Kim trailed off, not hiding her skepticism at all. The bell announcing the start of the next period rang, but both youths ignored it. 

"Admit it," Wade prodded, as the silence in the wake of the bell's clanging lengthened. "You're curious about this thing too. Need a ride?" Wade asked. 

"I suppose I am curious. A little. Even if it's only to see what's got Fiske so interested in such a farfetched local ghost story. So, yes, I need a ride, please and thank you," Kim responded. 

"Should I call Monique, too?" Wade asked, even as his fingers began to blur on the keyboard in front of him, accessing information on previous missions to find a suitable favor to call in. 

"No, I'll go this one solo - it's only Monkey Fist." Reversing her course to return to her locker in order to collect her mission gear, she explained, "Even if he brings along those monkey ninjas again, I shouldn't have any problem dealing with the situation. Besides, Mon said her parents have been complaining about her missing so much school for the missions, even if the absences are excused. Best to let her sit some out until we really need her." 

"Gotcha. I'll still let her and Mr. Barkin know what's up though, just in case you need backup." Wade flashed a thumbs up before the display screen on the Kimmunicator flickered for an instant with static, then powered down as he broke the connection. 

xxxXXXxxx

"Thanks for the ride!" Kim called as she leaped out of the cab of the tractor trailer truck. 

"No problem, little lady," the driver replied with a jaunty salute before leaning across the seat to pull the passenger door shut. "It's the least I could do after you set my broken arm and changed the flat tires on ol' Betsy here." 

Kim waved off the thanks as she hitched her backpack of mission gear more securely onto her shoulder. "It was no big. Anyone would have done the same." 

"Right back at ya, missy - I'm glad to help. All I know is, if you hadn't helped, I'd have never gotten that load of cookies to Tulsa in time. Y'all take care now!" With a brief basso roar of his air horn as a final farewell, the driver pulled back onto the highway, leaving Kim standing on the quiet roadside shoulder. 

After watching the brightly colored Granny Crockett logo on the back of the truck recede into the distance, Kim turned and carefully walked down the steep slope that edged the shoulder of the highway. "Welcome to picturesque Bear Hollow," Kim murmured to herself as she read the brightly colored sign that demarcated the town limits. "Population... 34." 

"Miss Possible?" 

Kim turned at the quiet voice. Standing outside a small, square grey building with a painted window declaring it to be the "General Store" was a short man with a receding hairline and a brightly colored tartan flannel shirt. "Yes?" 

"I'm Joe. Joe Dobbs, miss. Your friend - Wade was it? - called, and asked me to meet you." 

Smiling, Kim shook his hand. "Pleasure to meet you. I understand that Monty Fiske is around. Can you show me where he is?" 

"The funny looking guy with the weird accent?" 

"That would be the one," Kim smiled at the description. 

"He a friend of yours? He was a nice enough fella, but he had this funky kind of air to him, if you know what I mean." Joe waited for Kim's nod to ensure they were both thinking of the same person, then continued, "Anyway, I hate to disappoint you after you've come all this way, but I'm afraid he's already been here, and gone. I found out after that youngster called, or I'd have told him and saved you folks the trouble of coming out here, and I didn't get his number to call him back and let him know." 

"Hmm," Kim scowled in sudden disappointment at the news. "I guess Fiske's given up on this wild monkey chase already. Somehow I thought he'd take longer to throw in the towel than this." 

"Well, no, he didn't," Joe commented, scratching the back of his neck with one hand. "I mean, he didn't give up, that is. He caught the thing - trapped it and got it put in a cage neat as you please. Hairy son of a gun." 

Kim blinked in surprise. "You mean there really _was_ a monkey man? Besides Fiske, I mean?" 

"I don't rightly know about a 'monkey' man," Joe explained carefully. "I didn't get a good look at the critter to describe it that well. There sure enough was _something_ that he caught though. I can tell you one thing, too; I surely don't mind seeing the back of that thing. Six months ago it broke into my store, made a right mess. Worse than a whole family of raccoons, and that's no lie." 

"Hmm," Kim pondered that for a moment, then returned to the most important question. "I don't suppose you know where Fiske is now, do you?" Kim asked, a moment of hope rising at the possibility she could still catch up with the criminal. 

"Well..." Joe began, pausing as his expression twisted in concentration. "Old man Baker, up Choctaw way? He said that Fiske flew into the airfield there in a private plane. The airport's only about an hour away, and Mr. Fiske left here three, four hours ago. My guess is he's long gone." 

Kim frowned, unable to hide her disappointment. "That's too bad. Sorry to have wasted your time, but you've been a big help." 

"No problem at all, little lady. It was my pleasure. You just let me know if you need anything else while you're visiting," Joe smiled. "We haven't had a celebrity here in Bear Hollow before." 

"Oh, I'm not a celebrity," Kim demurred. "I'm just an ordinary teenager." 

"If you say so, Miss Possible. All I know is you're the closest thing to a celebrity we've seen in these parts since my father's cousin Cleotus came back from basic training to visit. So, you just take care now," Joe concluded, pausing to shake her hand again before returning to his store. 

Pulling out her Kimmunicator, Kim shook her head in disappointment as she pushed the button to page Wade. When his face appeared on screen, she sadly commented, "I struck out, Wade." 

"What happened, Kim?" Wade asked before sipping from a disposable soda cup. 

"Game, set, and match to Monkey Fist - to mix sports metaphors. He captured whoever or whatever was behind those stories, and left before I even got here." 

"That's too bad," Wade sighed, as disappointed in the poor showing as she was. "I knew I should have rerouted that flight from Albuquerque; I won't make that mistake again. Sorry, Kim." 

"It's alright, Wade. We'll get him next time. For all Monkey Fist's other faults, having a lack of monkey-themed but hare-brained schemes is _not_ one of them." 

"Too true," Wade agreed before cracking his knuckles and beginning to type on one of his keyboards. "A ride will be coming to pick you up and bring you home shortly. Stream your homework while you wait?" 

"Yes, please," Kim sighed as she walked towards a small bench outside Joe's store. 

Breathing deeply the crisp, unpolluted air of the rural town, she sat and quietly scrolled through the list of Latin verb conjugations that glowed on the Kimmunicator's screen, mouthing the syllables quietly to herself to fix the pronunciation in her mind while she waited for her ride to arrive. 

xxxXXXxxx

Despite Kim's feelings of discontent, and her sense of having been defeated by default, Monkey Fist was feeling no more triumphant than she. In a warehouse on the outskirts of Miami, waiting for the boarding call for the international flight that would return his minions and himself to his ancestral home, Fiske's rage was simmering merrily, well on its way to a full boil. 

"Defend yourself, curse you," Monty Fiske snarled, clenching one mutated hand tightly into a threatening fist. "Show me your power!" The monkey kung fu master drew himself up to his full height and loomed menacingly over the small figure huddled piteously before him. "Show me the full might of wild Tai Shing Pek Kwar, uncorrupted by foul _human_ influences!" he barked, shaking his fist in front of the creature's eyes. 

A faint sound like a choking sob came from the huddled figure, but it didn't move to avoid the threatened attack, or to respond in kind. Even after Fiske lashed out and struck the cowering figure with a powerful blow, it did nothing but huddle in a near-fetal position on the dirty warehouse floor. 

Scowling in such a way as to reveal some of the unnaturally lengthened teeth that graced his dentition, the mutated English lord forced himself to calm down as he watched the huddled creature shake with fear before his might - which was, after all, only as it should be, despite how annoying he presently found it to be. "A pity. You're still too much of a _human_ to be a natural master of the mystical monkey power, after all. I had such hopes, but it seems you've nothing to teach me..." 

Turning his back on the shaking figure, he continued, "Still, I can find other uses for you, my proto-simian friend. But you're unworthy of receiving my personal tutelage... yet." Looking up into the rafters, he bellowed, "Chippy!" 

With a faint rustle of fabric as the only sound to betray the monkey ninja's arrival, a black-clad monkey melted from the shadows. Moving almost completely silently, the monkey ninja jumped down, landing gracefully in front of Fiske before bowing obediently. 

"Ah, there you are," Monkey Fist smiled with satisfaction at his student's skill and dutifulness. "Chippy, this weak creature needs instruction in the rudiments. I shall leave his instruction in your care. I have plans for him, but I have neither the time nor the inclination to prepare him personally. Do you understand me?" 

The monkey ninja nodded in understanding and acceptance. 

"Excellent," Fiske turned and grinned mirthlessly at the golden furred creature he had gone to so much trouble to acquire, and that had then disappointed him so badly. "Unless I call for you personally, his training shall be your only task." When Chippy seemed inclined to wait for further instructions, he barked, "What are you waiting for? Get him out of here and get to work! The sight of him offends me," he sneered, stretching his pronunciation of the word "offends" for added emphasis. 

After a series of back flips, Chippy landed beside the huddled figure and latched onto one ear with a powerful hand. "Ook," the monkey ninja commanded, pulling strongly on the trapped appendage. 

"Ack," screamed the creature at the pain in his ear. As the monkey ninja moved to the warehouse door, the creature was forced to scuttle to keep pace with the smaller figure of the monkey ninja, and to keep the grip on his ear from hurting even more. 

Monkey Fist laughed uproariously at the sight, then launched into a kata using his mutated hands and feet interchangeably. "Oh yes," he murmured, kicking powerfully into the air. "I have many plans..." 

As he continued to cycle through the rhythmic, martial movements of the Monkey Kung Fu forms, he was joined first by one, then by another monkey ninja. By the time he had completed the kata and stood poised on one prehensile foot in a variant of a crane stance, he was surrounded by a small horde of his furry minions, all of whom echoed his pose. "Excellent," he praised, before snorting briefly at a distant screech that was a testament to Chippy's labors on his behalf. "Now, repeat it from the beginning, faster..." he ordered, and his minions obediently followed his lead. 

Without breaking the flow of his movements, Monkey Fist's flat grey eyes narrowed in concentration as he thought fiercely, "I **_am_** the Monkey Master." 

end of Chapter 1

 


	2. 2: And now, back to our program

Spoiler Disclaimer: Same as Chapter 1 

**

Chapter 2: And now, back to our program...

**

"Is this supposed to be the entrée?" Kim asked, sliding into her usual seat beside Monique in the Middleton lunch room. "I mean, it looks like pudding." 

"The newspaper said it was 'turkey surprise'," Monique replied, munching on a carrot stick. "Turkey pudding... now that's a surprise." 

Kim's nose scrunched up, and she sniffed her lunch tray dubiously. "If this is turkey, how come I can smell seafood?" 

Monique silently pointed to the senior's table. In a glittering silver service bowl that more closely resembled an ornate medieval chalice than the utilitarian food service bowls the high school ordinarily used, a heaping selection of fancy seafood - she could see the red carapaces of boiled lobster tails even through the mounded concentric rings of peeled shrimp - held pride of place in the center of the table while the seniors and the star athletes snacked on the glorious offerings. "Fruits of the Sea," Monique commented dryly. "Nothing but the best." 

Groaning, Kim pushed her tray of culinary mystery away from her. "I can't wait to be a senior," Kim sighed, munching on a dinner roll, which alone of her lunch offerings appeared to be edible. 

A series of beeps from the depths of the side pocket of her pants caught her attention. "The day's looking up. Maybe I won't have to eat this after all." Drawing out her Kimmunicator, Kim initiated the connection and asked, "What's Drakken up to this time, Wade?" 

"Drakken?" Wade asked in puzzlement. "Who said anything about Doctor Drakken?" 

"He has been just about the only villain we've heard from in months," Monique commented dryly. "You mean he's _not_ why you called?" 

"Last I heard, Shego was still sunbathing in the Bahamas. I doubt she'll break Drakken out of prison before she runs out of money or she gets bored. Drakken's safely on ice for a while." 

"Glad to hear it," Kim smiled, "I can use the break. So what's the sitch, Wade?" 

Wade smiled back. "No emergency, just a status update. I know you have lunch this hour, so I thought it'd be safe to interrupt." He abruptly stopped speaking, and appeared to lean closer to the camera. "Whoa... What _is_ that?" he asked, staring at Kim's lunch tray. 

"Turkey surprise," Monique repeated with a grin. 

The Kimmunicator abruptly sprouted a dozen sensors and probes as Wade's fingers danced on his keyboard. "Want to know what the surprise is? I'm kind of curious myself." 

"Please don't," Kim requested, without much enthusiasm. "I'm going to try to eat it, I think. Leave me some mystery. It's hard enough to sleep, knowing what I know about the meatloaf..." 

The probes retracted and Wade shrugged. "Let's hope anything's possible for a Possible. Even surviving... that." 

"So, all joking aside, what's really up?" Monique asked. "What update did you mean? Like I said, things have been fairly quiet, except on the Drakken front." 

Wade smirked. "True, but Kim, remember about six months back, your trip to Bear Hollow?" 

"How could I forget?" Kim asked rhetorically. "By the time I left, I met everyone in town and most of the nearby vicinity, and had to turn down invites to four church socials and a quilting bee. Not to mention the two marriage proposals..." 

"Um," Monique cleared her throat to interrupt. "Why don't I remember this? Sounds like it was a hard mission to forget." 

"We gave you a pass on that one, Monique," Wade explained, "because of your mother." 

"Luckily for you," Kim added. "Monkey Fist had been there and gone before I even arrived, so it was all a waste of time. So this is an update on Monkey Fist?" 

"Exactly," Wade nodded. "I finally learned why he's been so quiet lately." 

"Oh? Why?" Monique asked, leaning closer to get a better look at the tiny screen. 

Wade clicked his mouse, and a photo of a rather bland looking man in a suit and tie was briefly displayed on the Kimmunicator's screen. 

"Apparently a distant relative of Fiske's took him to court; he was trying to have the title, the estate, and what's left of the ancestral bank account taken away from Monty Fiske and turned over to himself because of Monkey Fist's erratic and criminal behavior." 

"I don't see much of a family resemblance," Kim noted. 

"He **is** a _distant_ relative," Wade repeated, "and a pretty smart one, too; I read some of the court documents, and his case was pretty persuasive." 

"And of course, we're strictly unbiased observers of the legal system, with absolutely no interest in the outcome at all," Monique commented drolly. 

"Exactly!" Wade chuckled. "Anyway, Fiske won, but it was close. Very close. There were some rumors circulating, and he had to do some fancy legal maneuvering of his own to make it go away." 

"What rumors?" Kim asked curiously. 

"Since Fiske fired his other servants, and Bates passed away, there's been only Fiske and his monkey ninjas at the estate. About six months ago though, Fiske returned from a vacation with a young male companion, and..." Wade trailed off leadingly. 

"Aha," Kim breathed, making the connection. "So it was a boy... whatever." 

"Aha what?" Monique asked. "And boy huh?" 

"Anyway," Wade continued, "There are a number of explanations for why an older man who has never been married would suddenly start spending all his time with a younger male, frequently in a gym or dojo, and would often be seen wrestling or sparring with him. The rumors gave one explanation for the behavior, and despite a general lessening of certain prejudices, it didn't look good for Fiske's case, so he had to take steps." 

"What are you guys talking about?" Monique demanded, smacking one hand flat on the lunch table, and sending viscid ripples wobbling through Kim's ignored entrée. 

"Monkey Fist captured bigfoot," Kim explained. "And apparently has been training him in Monkey Kung Fu." 

"Bigfoot?" Monique asked, one eyebrow raising in disbelief. 

"Not literally," Wade elaborated. "The press called him 'The Monkey-Man of Bear Hollow.'" 

"So let me get this straight," Kim turned back to the Kimmunicator. "The fact that Monty Fiske is a criminal who has spent a fortune having himself mutated into being more monkey-like is perfectly fine, but he was almost stripped of his estate because rumor said he was also **_gay_**?" 

Wade raised his disposable cup in a mock salute. "You'll be happy to know that the court papers don't mention anything about that - since discrimination for any reason is wrong, and using it as a basis for a court decision would just be begging for it to be overturned on appeal. Behind the scenes however, if you'll pardon the expression, the fur was flying. Monty had to create legal documentation as an explanation for his behavior to mitigate the rumors, and he had to do it in such a way as to not seem like he was just covering up for himself, or else people would believe the rumors no matter what he said or did. I have to admit, he was very clever about it, too... New rumors started almost immediately and nobody believed the old ones anymore." 

"How'd he work the gossip mill so well?" Monique asked curiously. As someone "in the know" herself, she was well aware of the way fact and fiction could blend and warp once the rumors started flying, and how difficult it was to rein in wild rumors when a frenzy started. 

Grinning, Wade clicked his mouse again, displaying another image. "Meet Lord Bobo Fiske, Monty's newly adopted son and heir." 

"Him, I can see the family resemblance," Monique commented, staring at the picture of Monkey Fist and his 'son.' 

Kim didn't immediately respond as she contemplated the picture on the small screen. As Monique had noted, there was indeed a similarity of appearance to Monkey Fist, heightened by the identical black gis they wore - although the manifestations of "monkeyness" were different. Monty's eyes were slightly sunken, but his face looked much as it had before his mutation experiments, while his hands and feet were distinctly monkey-like, and he sported a nearly complete coat of black fur. Bobo, on the other hand, looked relatively human from the neck down, albeit covered in what looked like gold-colored fur, though his hunching posture combined with the coat could be disguising additional mutations. His feet, as unencumbered by shoes as his father's, looked human, unlike his father's prehensile monkey feet. His face on the other hand... 

As a devoted Cuddler of Cuddle Buddies, Kim was used to odd appearing animals, and the blending of characteristics between species to form something new. She loved her pandaroo, and still remembered fondly the time she had seen the ultra-rare flamingoat. But when she looked at Bobo, with the mix of human and animal traits that made Monkey Fist's appearance look normal... "Nice snout," she said, shuddering in revulsion at the bestial features atop the almost-human form. 

"Technically, Kim," Wade explained, "it's not a snout. More like a muzzle." 

"Snout, muzzle, who cares what you call it? He looks like a monkey! Or a chimp. Or something. Could he really _be_ Monkey Fist's son?" Monique demanded. 

"Who can tell?" Wade asked, shrugging his shoulders. "Even if I had a DNA sample, I'd still need samples from before and after every one of Monkey Fist's mutations to do a true analysis, and I doubt if even Monty has those kinds of samples. He does **look** the part though, and between the adoption papers, a court filing naming Bobo as heir to both the title and his newly incorporated school of martial arts, and an impromptu training session outside the courthouse during a recess to show how seriously they take Tai Shing Pek Kwar... Suffice it to say, just about everyone believes that Bobo is Monty's real son - adoption papers notwithstanding - and not a lover. He's a son born out of wedlock, sure, but Fiske _is_ nobility, however minor. Sowing a few wild oats is expected, even applauded, even in this day and age. Frankly, after all the rumors, innuendo, and strange behavior, having Fiske do something like reclaim his love child and teach him the family style of martial arts seemed so normal as to be _boring_... which is just what the public **and** the court wanted, and which in turn made that interpretation all the more believable after some of the more outrageous rumors that were circulating. Anyway, Monkey Fist won the lawsuit, and the relative was sent packing." 

"So Fiske's legal troubles are over?" Kim asked. 

"For now. Which means Monkey Fist will be free to scheme again," Wade cautioned. "And his 'son' will likely be coming along for the ride next time." 

The bell announcing the end of the lunch period broke the troubled silence that followed the warning. "What a pity... no time to eat the turkey surprise," Kim sighed. 

"Saved by the bell," Monique snickered as she cleared her trash. "It's better this way Kim. Trust me, that just looks nasty." 

"Later, Kim, Monique," Wade waved as he broke the connection. 

Kim and Monique headed for their next class, still disquieted by both the warning, and the animalistic appearance of Monkey Fist's "son," and eager to bury their discomfort in the familiar mundane routine of high school. 

End of Chapter 2

 


	3. 3: A History Lesson

Spoiler Disclaimer: Same as Chapter 1, with some dialogue taken from, and references to events in, "Monkey Ninjas in Space." 

**Chapter 3: A History Lesson**

"What is your damage?" Bonnie snarled. "You're even clumsier than usual, Kim, and you're going to ruin our chances at the competition!" 

Kim's scowl deepened as she spun to confront her cheerleading nemesis near the collapsed stack of girls that had resulted from a miscue when she'd failed to nail her backflip hurkey spring, largely thanks to Bonnie's unscripted side hurdler lift-up. "I've taken just about enough from you, Bonnie," she began, then fell silent as Monique interposed herself between the two. 

"One sec, Kim. Let me have a word with you, Bon-bon," Monique cheerfully interjected as she grabbed Bonnie by one arm and gently, but insistently, dragged her away from the groaning mass of cheerleaders while they untangled themselves. 

"Do you mind?" Bonnie demanded, "This is a cheerleading matter, and you are so totally _not_ a member of the squad." 

"Of course," Monique soothed, "and normally, I'd be happy to cheer you two kids on as you argue like rabid wolves. It's more entertaining even than the GWA - you've got better dialogue. But this is **not** a good time to provoke Kim." 

Bonnie's scowl turned into a smirk. "You think I'm frightened of _**Kim**_?" 

"Maybe you should be," Monique mumbled under her breath. Louder, she said, "Trust me. She's not in a good mood this week. Save the power play for later. Not even the villains are stupid enough to provoke Kim this week, and considering who we're talking about, that's really saying something. Are you telling me you're not as smart as Duff Killigan or Motor Ed?" 

"Like I care about Kimmie's mood?" Bonnie continued smirking, and roughly jerked her arm out of Monique's grip. "Anyway, if she's in a bad mood, it seems to me that now's the perfect time to show her who should be captain." 

"Look, **_Bonnie_**," Monique emphasized with a scowl. "I didn't want to tell you this, but if you're not bright enough to leave well enough alone... It's an unhappy anniversary for Kim. Ten years ago she lost her best friend, and she always gets grumpy on the anniversary. Haven't you noticed? I only moved here a little while ago, and _**I**_ noticed." 

Bonnie examined the nails of one hand in an elaborate display of unconcern. "So her friend moved away. Big whoop. Growing up means growing apart. She should just deal and give 110 to the squad, or step aside for someone who will." 

"He didn't move away. He **_died_**, Bonnie," Monique snarled, losing her temper at the cheerleader's arrogance and showing the depth of her irritation for the first time. "And since they could only find _**pieces**_ of him, you can maybe understand why she's still a little bit upset about it. So you can take your attitude, and your ego, and..." 

"Coming, Bonnie?" Kim's call interrupted her friend before the confrontation could degenerate further. 

"Of course," Bonnie smirked, sauntering back to join the rest of the cheerleading squad as they set up to run through the routine again while Monique fumed silently. "Glad to see you admit you need me." 

Despite the underlying tension, the rest of the practice went off without a hitch. Bonnie's scheming and constant watching for a hint of weakness required a level of concentration on Kim's part that actually managed to distract her from her dark thoughts... at least for a little while. 

After practice was over, Kim drew Monique aside. "Thanks for interrupting like that, Mon. You know how I get sometimes." 

"No problem, girl," Monique patted her on the back comfortingly. "That Bonnie... I swear sometimes she needs a swift kick in the..." 

"Monique!" 

Monique giggled. "You know what I mean." 

"Yes, and I volunteer to be the kicker," Kim sighed. "But, yeah, I do know. Say, are you doing anything on Saturday?" 

"Nope, I'm free. I'm not scheduled to work at Club Banana again until Sunday, and my brother always tapes the GWA, so there's nothing I can't put off until later. Why?" 

Kim sighed, and hung her head briefly. "It's Rocket Booster open house day at the Space Center, and dad wants me to go." 

"Isn't that the program for the elementary school kids?" Monique asked. "Are you giving a presentation or something?" 

"I wish. No, dad still doesn't seem to realize that I'm a big girl now. I'm just along for the tour like the _other_ little kids." 

"Doesn't the saving the world thing tell him anything about your level of maturity?" 

"You'd think; but the slightest mention of me growing up makes him all... goofy." 

"You make it sound so thrilling, how could I possibly say no?" Monique smiled at her friend. 

"There's going to be rocket-shaped cookies," Kim smiled back. 

"That clinches it. Sign me up for the Rocket Boosters!" Monique grinned, linking arms with her friend as they headed out of the gym. 

End of Chapter 3

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	4. 4: Setting the Stage

**Spoiler Disclaimer:** Events, dialogue, and situations surrounding the episode "Monkey Ninjas in Space" (1-19) are referenced and revisited here, albeit modified in the context of the parallel timeline. 

**

Chapter 4: Setting the Stage

**

Dr. Possible looked around the lobby of the command center, and a proud smile graced his face. A dozen brightly smiling children were gathered around him, waiting for him to speak, Kimmie-cub and her friend were munching on rocket-shaped cookies, and the sun was shining brightly outside on a beautiful day. All was right with his world. "Good morning Rocket Boosters! I'm Dr. Possible." 

"Good morning, Dr. Possible!" the children chorused back. 

"Ten years ago," he began, "I formed the Rocket Boosters to help show that science can be fun, and to show my Kimmie-cub that her dad does some pretty exciting things, while helping her deal with some problems. Once a year since then, we've had the rocket booster open house to show just how _cool_ science can be. 

Unnoticed by her father, Kim dropped her face into one hand and shook her head briefly in annoyance as every child's face turned to look at her curiously. Even Monique's normally cheerful expression grew a shade chillier as Kim groaned in disbelief. 

"Today," Dr. Possible continued, "science is just as cool as ever, and my Kimmie-cub is..." 

As Dr. Possible continued to speak, Monique asked, "You want to get out of here before he breaks out the baby pictures?" 

Kim looked down at her Rocket Booster sweatshirt, which was straining at the seams and revealed more of her midriff than even she was used to, and sighed. "No, it'll be okay... I hope. But the first sign of home movies, and we're gone." Kim fell silent with a surprised squawk as she was suddenly engulfed in a hug by her father. 

"Plus it's still a great way to spend a day with Kimbo here. And I have a special treat for you all today," Dr. Possible smiled at the cheerful faces of his audience as he hugged his daughter. "Today, you'll be meeting our newest astronaut, who's completing his training for a year long mission on our space station." He paused for a moment, as the kids cheered and talked excitedly about the surprise, then added, "So come along, and let's see what's new at the space center, shall we?" 

xxxXXXxxx

The tour progressed without any more excessively embarrassing incidents as Kim and Monique trailed after the excited children. Despite the inauspicious start, both found themselves enjoying the visit, even though Kim had seen many of the sights before - or even stranger ones in the various villains' lairs - Dr. Possible's enthusiasm for his work was impossible to ignore, and the innocent joy of the children was just as contagious. 

Dr. Possible stopped beside a plain wooden door without any identifying sign, and waited for the tour group to gather. 

"So what's behind door number one?" Monique asked. "Atomic reactor?" 

"I'm not sure. Could be the janitor's closet," Kim guessed. 

When the children were all gathered, Dr. Possible announced, "Now, I'd like you all to meet the special new addition to our space crew, Frederick." He stepped aside and with a broad smile, gestured inside with a sweeping gesture. 

As the door opened, contrary to the teens' guesses, it revealed a small work room. Most of the room was innocuous, but across the room, a diminutive figure in a space suit was working on a computer terminal, navigating a virtual spaceship through a simulation of an asteroid swarm. 

The children looked briefly confused, since the room looked fairly boring when compared to the particle collider room, the satellite tracking station, or the Mars rover testbed. Thinking she was missing something, one girl in the back even jumped up and down trying to get a better look over the heads of her peers. 

When the seated figure noticed the visitors, he turned to face them, and pressed several buttons on a control panel on his left wrist. **( Welcome. friends. )** a synthesized voice announced. 

"How come he uses that box thingy to talk?" a curious girl asked, twirling one of her pigtails around a finger as she stared at him. 

"I think you'll like this, boys and girls," Dr. Possible's voice became even more cheerful. "You see, Frederick isn't a _human_ astronaut, he's a..." 

As he continued to speak, the small figure reached up, and unscrewed the helmet from the airtight locking mechanism on the neck of his space suit. As he lifted the helmet from his head, the children breathed a collective, "oooh" of delight. 

"He's a monkey!" one boy announced, pointing at the astronaut. 

The children rushed forward and surrounded Frederick, but were either too reserved or too frightened to do anything else. Once Frederick pushed some more buttons, and announced, **( Frederick. Friend. )** the reserve swiftly was quashed by their excitement. The monkey collected hugs, handshakes, pats on the head, and even a kiss on the cheek from one girl, all of which were borne with a friendly demeanor and a gentle smile. 

"Frederick needs to get back to training, kids," Dr. Possible finally announced. "So come along with me, and I'll show you where Frederick's rocket is being readied for launch." 

Still psyched by meeting the monkey astronaut, the kids returned Frederick's wave goodbye and called out "Goodbye, Frederick," as they left. They were all but bouncing with excitement as they followed Dr. Possible down the hall, and even Kim was smiling as she brought up the end of the train. 

As Dr. Possible stopped in front of a large observation window, he gestured proudly with one hand and explained, "This spacecraft is being prepared for a special mission. Frederick is going to spend a year on our space station monitoring experiments from elementary students from around the country." 

Surrounding the rocket, a muted swirl of activity was ongoing. Robotic tenders rolled around the base, monitoring and servicing the vehicle, while small white puffs of either smoke or steam were periodically emitted from the access ports on the vehicle itself. To Kim's experienced eye, the ship itself seemed outdated and old in style compared to some of the vehicles she'd seen and flown, but judging from the gleam in the children's eyes, it didn't matter. 

"Glad you came along, Kim?" Monique whispered. 

"Actually, yes," Kim whispered back. "It's been kind of fun. And just look at the look on their faces - they're so sweet." 

"They're real cuties, aren't they?" Monique smiled, seeing one boy pressing his face against the glass so tightly his nose was flattened and his breath clouded the window. 

Before Kim could comment, the air was filled with short, barking kiyais. One by one, a squad of monkey ninjas leaped into position surrounding the small group and dropped into an attack stance. 

"Monkey ninjas!" Kim gasped. Reaching into the pocket of her cargo pants, she drew out the Kimmunicator and hit the silent alarm button. Before she could do more, her father made his move. 

Stepping between the children and the nearest monkeys, he spread his arms as a warding barrier, and demanded, "What's going on here?" 

Before Kim could explain, or the monkeys could move, a dark voice came from the shadowy depths of a corridor. "A prophecy is being fulfilled!" the evil laughter that followed did nothing to reassure anyone as Monkey Fist melted from the shadows, walking in a distinctly animalistic gait using his knuckles to balance himself. 

xxxXXXxxx

_The stage is set, the players are in place, and the confrontation is about to begin..._

End of Chapter 4

 


	5. 5: Kim Versus Bobo

**Spoiler Disclaimer:** Events, dialogue, and situations surrounding the episode "Monkey Ninjas in Space" (1-19) are referenced and revisited here, albeit modified in the context of the parallel timeline.

Chapter 5: Kim Versus Bobo

"There is no need for alarm," Monkey Fist commented, his conversational tone a sharp contrast to the threat embodied by himself and his money ninjas. "I have come for Frederick."

"But he can't leave," Dr. Possible retorted, sweeping one arm in clear negation even as he shook his head. "Frederick is a highly trained astronaut. He's due for a mission."

"Oh, I know doctor," Monkey Fist replied, the smooth tones of his high class accent a stark contrast to his animalistic movements and appearance. "And I shall accompany him."

Out of the direct path of confrontation, Kim quietly judged the location of the monkey ninjas, the exits, Monkey Fist, and most importantly, the children. "We've got to get them out of here," she whispered to Monique.

"Oh, yeah," Monique muttered under her breath. "But how?"

"I'm still working on that," Kim winced as one of the children confronted Monkey Fist, too young and innocent to recognize the danger. She braced herself to intercept any attack, but her father interposed herself before she could. She felt a surge of pride rise as he protected the child.

"There's nothing cool about stealing a spacecraft," Dr. Possible intoned, his expression cold.

"Oh really?" Monkey Fist drawled, amused by the presumption.

"That's right. In fact I'd have to say it's quite 'whack.'"

Monkey Fist's rubbery lips creased in a grin that seemed to stretch far wider than his face should allow. "Doctor, I am guided by the ancient prophesy of the Mystical Monkey monk. I am not... 'whack.'"

Monique winced, and Kim's cheeks grew a hint of color as both older men seemed just as determined as Dr. Drakken to use "hip" slang. _Speaking of "whack" ..._

Using the silence that was left in the aftermath of the confrontation, and Monkey Fist's distraction as he approached Frederick, Kim pointed with her chin to a door on the far side of the room with only a single monkey ninja guarding it. Monique nodded in understanding, and stealthily edged away from the main body, readying herself to act as the diversion.

"And now my dear, Frederick," Monkey Fist cajoled, resting one monkey-like hand companionably on the astronaut's back. "It has been foretold that you would lead us to the stars." His voice rose in volume as his emotion surged at the possibilities. "Destiny awaits us!"

The astronaut's answer was brief, and to the point. **( Frederick. Stay. )**

Monkey Fist's expression hardened, but his voice remained steady. "Frederick, you cannot fight destiny. It's just not done." His brow furrowed and his voice darkened as he concluded, "Otherwise things here could get **very** ugly. Understand?"

Glancing between the children and Dr. Possible, the astronaut made his decision. **( Frederick go. Friends safe. )**

"Well done," Monkey Fist praised, resting a hand on the monkey's back. "The prophecy clearly states that Frederick will lead us to the stars. So it was foretold, so it shall be!" he orated, as forceful and commanding as an old testament prophet... until a hint of his personal ambition slipped through. "I just can't wait to be the ultimate monkey master!"

"Go, Monique!" Kim called out, leaping over one monkey ninja and heading for their master.

"I wondered when you'd make your move, Kim Possible," Monkey Fist smiled cruelly, watching her approach, but remaining still.

"Dad, get the kids out of here. Monique, you've got the ninjas," Kim dropped into a defensive stance as she added, "I've got Monkey Fist."

"Nice plan," Monkey Fist commented, a grin growing on his lips, "But you're forgetting something. Stop her!" he shouted.

From the shadowy nooks of the rafters overhead, there was a flash of gold. With a yelp of startled pain, Monique flew back and away from the door, struck by a powerful blow.

Monkey Fist laughed as the monkey ninjas returned to their positions, herding Dr. Possible and the children away from the door they'd run for. With a stealth that belied his size, Monkey Fist's adopted son dropped lightly to the ground behind his father. "Well done," the mutated lord praised, rubbing the golden-furred head briefly.

As Kim watched her plan fall apart, she scowled, readying herself for combat. "You'll never make it out of the space center," she growled.

"On the contrary, my transportation is all arranged. You on the other hand... Well, let's just see how my boy's training is coming along, shall we?" With a cruel smile, he ordered, "Bobo... Get her!"

Faster than she could consciously recognize, Kim ducked as a furry foot breezed past her ear. _He's fast!_ she thought, even as she moved to evade the next series of blows.

Kim had no more time for thought as the younger Fiske was unleashed. She gasped as she dodged blow after blow, trading punches and kicks with the golden blur that attacked her as she tried to simultaneously move the fight away from the children, deal damage to her opponent, and keep away from the creature.

Bobo's arms seemed longer than a normal human's, while his legs seemed shorter, and the difference in reach played havoc with the blocks, dodges, and reflexes she'd honed and practiced in years of fights against Shego and a series of lesser villains. She _was_ adapting her style to the differences, but slowly, and she was forced to absorb more than a few blows when they came from unanticipated directions thanks to the abnormal limbs.

From the sidelines, the monkey ninjas cheered, and Monkey Fist watched in pride as his "son" fought against his nemesis. Bobo moved faster and faster, arms and legs used interchangeably in his attacks as Kim used every trick in her repertoire to keep from being overwhelmed by the frenzied - yet oddly precise, nonetheless - assault. "Excellent training, Chippy," Monkey Fist praised. "There'll be extra bananas as a reward for you."

At the speed of the combat, and with the other factors inhibiting her, it was inevitable that a mistake would eventually be made. And as Kim blocked one kick at a slightly incorrect angle, it was. Her arm absorbed too much of the force of the kick rather than redirecting it, and consequently, her arm was moved fractionally out of position. As a result, she simply could not move her arm quickly enough to intercept the roundhouse punch that followed.

As her face neared the floor, she found herself thinking, _"I lost? But I never lose..."_ It was some comfort that she could see the door closing behind her father and the little Rocket Boosters as they slipped past the cordon of distracted Monkey Ninjas, but then Kim's head hit the floor, and everything went dark.

xxxXXXxxx

"Kim! Kim!"

Kim groaned as Monique's call resounded in her ears. It was hard to breathe, and her body ached. "I'm awake," she muttered.

"You've got to wake up, Kim! Now!"

Kim opened her eyes, and squealed in shock. Perched on top of her was Bobo Fiske - his knees resting on her forearms, keeping them pinned to her sides as his hands played with her hair. She reached for the side pocket of her cargo pants, stretching her fingers to try to find a grip on the Kimmunicator, but though she could feel the metal casing, her fingertips slid without purchase from the edges.

Bobo leaned down and sniffed briefly at her hair, seemingly unconcerned that she was conscious and struggling beneath him.

Shuddering, Kim could see the nostrils atop the monkey man's muzzle flare as he smelled her. His hot breath washed over her forehead, and Kim could feel goosebumps rise at the sensation. "Gross," she whispered, attempting fruitlessly to pull away.

Without effort, Bobo kept her trapped. He bent down, and very carefully pressed his teeth into her throat. The bite was hard enough to sting, but not enough to break the skin.

Kim squirmed, her body shrinking away from the mutant creature as its head drew back from her neck, but she was unable to free herself. She wanted to close her eyes to the spectacle of the bestial creature mounted atop her, but feared not knowing what it was doing to her even more. As she watched wide-eyed, one of his hands fiddled in the fur on his throat.

When he reached for her throat in turn, she screamed and tried once more to escape, but Bobo didn't react. Her eyes widened even further, until the whites were visible all around the iris. Despite her fear, Kim felt only the faintest, briefest of touches on her neck just above where the creature had bitten her before the monkey-man returned to playing with her hair.

Her frenetic struggles did have one benefit; as she writhed, her fingers finally found a grip on the Kimmunicator. As she strained against Bobo's pinioning weight, she furiously pressed down on the panic button with her thumb, shuddering as fingers much too long to be human were run across her scalp.

"Get off... get off... get off..." Kim mumbled under her breath, hitting the panic button again and again. "No, no, no..." her mantra changed as Bobo's eyes turned and seemed to follow her arm down into her pants' side pocket.

With one hand, Bobo effortlessly moved her hand away from the pocket, shifting his weight to free the arm from beneath him, then with the other, he reached into the pocket.

Kim shuddered as she felt his hand through the thin fabric of the pocket lining. The fingers felt hot as they touched the outside of her leg through the thin cloth barrier before closing on the communications device. To her vast relief, Bobo simply took the Kimmunicator out of her pocket without allowing his hand to linger inside her clothing. _"Ewww..."_ she shivered, trying to shrink away from him even further.

Bobo tilted the Kimmunicator from side to side, and some of the chromed detail pieces glittered as the overhead lights played across the surface. He grinned cheerily, revealing broad yellowed teeth and elongated canines like his father's. Bobo released Kim's arm and happily pressed some of the buttons on the device, grunting in pleasure at the sounds it made.

"What are you waiting for, fool?" Monkey Fist barked. "Finish her!"

The creature appeared to notice Kim's renewed struggles no more than he had noticed his adopted father's order. He simply tucked the Kimmunicator away inside his gi, pinned her arm once more, then resumed running his fingers through her hair.

Monkey Fist cleared his throat noisily. "It appears you aren't as well trained as I had thought," he sneered, condescension dripping from every syllable. "But no matter. I shall simply finish her myself."

Bobo emitted a single, basso grunt, as his hands stilled in Kim's hair.

Blinking in surprise, Monkey Fist halted in his tracks, stunned as he absorbed what his son had said. "What?" he demanded. "How dare you? How **dare** you! You obey **me**, you foolish brat! Now finish her, or I will do it myself!"

A low rumble filled the room as Bobo growled deep in his throat, the sound reverberating in his torso so powerfully Kim could feel the vibration where his body touched hers. His lips drew back into a snarl, and as he slowly raised himself from his position atop Kim, releasing her arms, he barked a single, "Ook."

"'How sharper than a serpent's tooth,'" Monkey Fist quoted sadly. "I would have given you everything, made you a true master of Tai Shing Pek Kwar, I would have given you the world when I was done with it - if only you had remained obedient. But now it seems I am once more without an heir." He dropped into an aggressive stance, and emitted a screeching simian challenge.

Disbelieving of what was happening, Kim waited until Bobo's attention was entirely focused on Monkey Fist, then she slid across the ground from behind him. While the two males were still posturing and displaying aggressive stances, she knelt by Monique and winced in sympathy at the bruise Bobo had left. "Ouch," she commiserated.

"Tell me about it," Monique winced, gingerly feeling the swelling that nearly closed her left eye. "I like his gift to you better."

Kim absently rubbed the side of her jaw where Bobo had slugged her. "It may not look as bad as yours, but believe me, it still stings. Bobo's stronger than he looks - must be those freakishly long arms."

"Believe me, I know all about that," Monique muttered, covering her swollen eye with one hand. "I meant the neck thing."

"Neck thing?" Kim asked curiously. She remembered Bobo leaning down, giving her a _very_ good view of the fine, downy fur that partially covered his muzzle, and a faint touch at her neck, but... She shuddered at the memory. "What neck thing? I barely even felt that bite; compared to the punch, that was nothing."

A booming screech interrupted their conversation, and as Kim and Monique turned to the confrontation behind them, Monkey Fist leaped to the attack. The monkey ninjas whooped and cheered, turning flips and performing acrobatics while standing in place that would have guaranteed a win in the regional cheerleading finals, as Monkey Fist and his son moved from the preliminary portion of their match and into the combat portion.

Strangely, one of the ninjas - the very one Fiske had praised earlier, was silent. Chippy remained quiet and still, watching the confrontation with worried eyes.

Glancing around, Monique noticed that thanks to the series of distractions, she and Kim were alone with the villainous crew. "You ready to bail? Looks like everyone else already made it out."

Kim helped Monique to her feet. "I am _so_ ready - let's just leave the monkey boys to their play." Together they slipped through a side door, leaving the fighting Fiskes and the monkey ninjas alone in the space center corridor.

**xxxXXXxxx**

The fight was very close to even; both Bobo and Monkey Fist were students of the same school of martial arts; both knew what their opponent was capable of, and both were fighting for dominance in a struggle as old as nature itself. Bobo was younger and stronger, Monkey Fist older and more experienced. But as they leaped, twisted, dodged and struck at each other, using the walls, floors (and even occasionally the monkey ninjas) as springboards for attacks, there was one final difference between the combatants that as the fight progressed, seemed to be telling: Bobo's feet were mostly human, while Monkey Fist's were prehensile. Bobo's feet were restricted to simple kicks, while the opposable toes on Monkey Fist's enabled him to use his feet almost interchangeably with his hands.

"How can you be this good?" Monkey Fist demanded, ducking both a kick and the haymaker that the feint had attempted to disguise. "You knew nothing of Tai Shing Pek Kwar when I found you... Nothing!" he bellowed, "So how can you know these moves?" he demanded, his fury rising.

As Fiske's ire exploded in a series of powerful blows and kicks, Bobo leaped to evade the flurry, but Fiske responded instantly. As Bobo rose into the air, Monkey Fist cartwheeled and with his hand-like feet, seized his adopted son by the shins.

Bobo yelped in panic and struggled to free himself, but it was for nought as his limbs flailed wildly, but encountered nothing but air. Monkey Fist continued through the cartwheel as gracefully as a teen cheerleader, carrying his challenger through the arc until he was slammed into the ground. A grunt was forced from Bobo's lips as he hit the cement floor, and the air was forcibly expelled from his lungs.

With one foot-hand still gripping the stunned Bobo's leg, Fiske sent a powerful knife hand rocketing towards his son's bared throat. Fiske's son managed to cross his arms in front of his vulnerable throat before the blow could land, but it bought him very little as blunt nails clawed parallel lines into his skin.

Changing the nature of the attack after the mortal blow was blocked, Fiske pressed down on the crossed limbs, his fingernails sinking painfully into the soft meat of the forearms his fingers encircled. He held Bobo down, leaving him trapped beneath him as thoroughly as he in turn had held Kim down earlier.

"And now it ends," Monkey Fist proclaimed. "And all is as it should be. For I am the holder of the Mystical Monkey Power... and you are less than nothing... a mere accidental happenstance of nature."

As Monkey Fist lifted his free fist triumphantly into the air, Bobo struck back. With a snarl he sank his teeth into Fiske's arm just above where it kept him pinned. Growling through the blood that flooded into his mouth, he tore a rough chunk of flesh from his shrieking father's arm, and as the injured martial artist instinctively drew back, Bobo was able to break free.

Rather than continue the fight once he was out of Monkey Fist's grip, Bobo fled, rushing blindly through the same door that the young Rocket Boosters had used to escape earlier. The monkey ninjas, although initially slow to react, leaped to attention as the door swung shut with a loud "thunk," but Monkey Fist's barked command brought them to a halt.

"Let him run," he ordered, a mad chuckle escaping through his grimace of pained triumph. "He has shown himself to be unworthy of being my heir. So be it. We shall ascend to the stars with the brightest of us all, and once there, I shall be anointed as the ultimate Monkey Master... and be _unstoppable_. Come!" he commanded, thrusting out his chest as he raised his arms in triumph, "my monkey minions... let us fulfil my destiny!"

Monkey Fist gloried in the hooting cries of triumph that his minions called out as they celebrated his victory. Ignoring the slow trickle of blood that seeped down his arm, he cried out, "At last, our time is at hand. Frederick..." he trailed off as he realized something. "Frederick? Frederick!"

The monkey ninjas looked around and realized that in the confusion and excitement of the fight between Monkey Fist and Bobo, Frederick had also slipped away. A few barely audible "ook"s and "eek"s of distress greeted this discovery, but before they could reach a state of panic or come to a decision, a fierce rumble rattled the windows and shook the earth.

As the villain and his simian henchmen turned to look, a white rocket with red fins and highlights launched into the sky, trailing an ever-lengthening plume of smoke and flame. Frederick was heading to the stars... and Monkey Fist remained on Earth.

"This is not following the prophecy!" Monkey Fist screamed. He reached blindly to the heavens, his hand clutching futilely at the shrinking image of the rocket, leaving small trails of his son's blood smeared on the window glass as the spaceship receded into the distance until it was all but invisible.

"No..." Monkey Fist barely breathed aloud as he sank to his knees, his hands sliding down the broad pane of glass that comprised the observation window with a screeching rattle. "This is impossible... I am to be unstoppable!"

xxxXXXxxx

A short blorp from a police siren, hastily shut down, was sufficient warning to snap the mutated English lord out of his funk. "Retreat!" he ordered, and as his ninjas followed him, he fled from the space center.

When the police, accompanied by agents of Global Justice, the FBI, as well as agents from a number of agencies that did not officially exist - given the number of times Kim & Bobo had hit the panic button, Wade had taken the situation **very** seriously - forced open the doorway, Monkey Fist and his ninjas were gone, leaving only a faint animal musk and a few scattered smears of blood in their wake.

**End of Chapter 5**

 


	6. 6: Bandaging Wounds

**Chapter 6 : Bandaging Wounds**

Kim had barely come through the doors of the Middleton Space Center when she was pulled into a smothering hug by her father. "Kimmie!" he whispered relievedly, twirling her into the air.

"Daddy!" Kim protested as she was set back on her feet, but she felt warmed by the embrace nonetheless.

"Thank goodness, you're alright," Dr. Possible breathed as he led her by the hand out of the flow of traffic as police and federal agents entered the building.

"I'm fine, too," Monique piped up as she followed behind the pair.

Dr. Possible surprised her by clasping and gripping her hand tightly, before squeezing once more in an attempt at reassuring her. "And you too, Monique. Thank you so much for helping my Kimmie-cub again."

Monique blushed, and fell back on one of her friend's phrases. "It was no big, Dr. Possible."

"You girls sit right here, and let the paramedics check you out," he instructed.

"I'm fine, dad... he just caught me by surprise, that's all," Kim demurred.

Despite her protests, her father was insistent. "No arguments, Kimmie-cub. There's no telling what that monkey boy might have been carrying. The authorities can handle this one while you get checked out - and that goes for you too, Monique."

A trifle indignantly, but resignedly, the two friends sat on the back of the ambulance that had come along with the small flotilla of official vehicles and submitted themselves to the medical personnel's examination. It was quick, and painless, and mostly involved topical antiseptic - since the wounds were, after all, fairly minor, as well as a suggestion to ice the bruised areas, to which both girls nodded their agreement.

While they were still being looked over by the paramedics, a bearded man in a white lab coat that Kim vaguely remembered as working at the space center drew her father to one side. Kim watched curiously, but they were too far away to overhear the conversation.

"Miss?"

Kim turned away from the distant conversation as the medical technician sought her attention. "Yes? Sorry, I was distracted."

"It's no problem, miss, but I need you to remove your charm," he replied. "It's covering part of the bite."

"Charm?" Kim asked curiously.

Monique nodded. "Didn't you notice?" she gestured to the side of Kim's neck.

Kim reached up and ran her fingers down the side of her neck, until she felt a small metallic object dangling by her neck. Blinking in surprise, she pulled it free, wincing as it brought some hairs along with it. "Ouch," she muttered, holding it in her palm.

As the technician worked on her neck, painting the rest of the bite wound with antiseptic with a cotton swab, she examined the item. It was small and rectangular, about an inch long on the longer side, pierced in the middle of one side, with a broken metal ring threaded through the opening. Caught in the ring were the hairs she'd accidentally pulled free, and that revealed how it had been hung. She rubbed her thumb across the polished metal surface, then flipped it over to view the other side. Embossed in the center of the rectangle in large block letters were the letters "BOBO" with a logo that was too small to make out details, but looked roughly circular, flanking the name on each side.

Monique looked at it curiously, before glancing up at Kim's surprised expression. "You seriously didn't know?"

Kim's lips twisted in discomfort. "No! Is that what you meant when you were talking about the 'gift'?"

"Yes. Sorry, I thought you knew."

"I totally didn't," Kim denied, staring down at the name etched into the metal. "Two guesses where it came from."

"No bet," Monique answered, her lips quirking into a smile.

Kim was distracted from her contemplation of the metallic tab as a bespectacled scientist joined her father in the huddle with the other scientist. "Are you sure?" Mr. Possible demanded, loud enough for Kim to hear.

She absentmindedly put the tag in her pocket and, finally dismissed by the med techs, Kim and Monique wandered over to the gathering of scientists and caught the tail end of the conversation. "... have you heard anything from Frederick?"

"No, but he should be rendezvousing with the station shortly. We can try to make contact with him then."

"Dad? What it is?" Kim asked.

"It's Frederick's rocket; Wade is bringing the space center's computers back under control, and when he did, we started receiving some strange images coming from the Spider-Cam in the science lab," Mr. Dr. Possible explained. "It's almost like... No, I don't want to speculate without more information."

"Shall we?" the bespectacled, balding scientist prompted, pointing with one hand to the door of the space center.

"Yes, lets," Dr. Possible agreed. "Kimmie, you stay here," he instructed, before hurrying along with the other scientists, squeezing between the returning flood of agents and police as they exited the building.

Kim would have followed, despite her father's instructions, but an officer from the Middleton Police stopped beside her. "Excuse me, Miss Possible."

"Yes, Officer Hobble?"

"I'm afraid that the perpetrators have escaped."

"I was afraid of that," Kim sighed. "Monty Fiske and his monkey ninjas are just too sneaky. At least the children and Frederick got away safely, and Monkey Fist's plot was foiled."

"Monkey... ninjas?" the policeman asked curiously.

"Yes; they're probably long gone by now, despite the cordon you put up," Kim said sadly. "Thank you for the help, Officer. It was close there, for a while."

Officer Hobble shook his head in amazement, "Just when you think you've seen it all... You take care now, Miss Possible, ma'am. Global Justice is claiming jurisdiction and taking over the investigation, so be sure to cooperate if they ask for assistance." With a tip of his helmet to Kim and Monique, the policeman headed off.

"Thanks again, officer," Kim called after him, then turned to Monique. "Check on my dad?"

"Sounds good." Together the pair headed into the space center.

Kim and Monique passed a wide berth around the crime scene evidence collection team as they worked in the concourse that had so lately been the scene of the confrontation. Despite the necessary detour that evasion entailed, the pair soon reached the control room.

"... There it goes again! Did you see that?" one of the scientists excitedly called as they walked in, pointing at a monitor. "Definite movement, and definitely not from one of the spiders!"

"What's going on?" Monique wondered aloud.

"There's movement on the Spider-Cam," one of the white-coated scientists explained. "It's a camera set up to monitor the spider habitat in the lab module."

"And that means...?" she prompted.

"It means there might be an unintended 'guest' along on Frederick's mission," Dr. Possible explained grimly.

Kim immediately reached for her Kimmunicator, but her hand slapped against an empty pocket. She growled in frustration, then noticed Wade's smiling face beaming at her from a nearby monitor inset into the wall. "Wade!"

"Hi, Kim," the boy waved cheerily.

"I lost the Kimmunicator," she said contritely. "Sorry about that."

"No big," Wade answered easily. "Stuff happens when you save the world. A replacement should be waiting when you get home."

"You so rock, Wade."

"Thanks - but that's not why I called. Dr. Possible?" Wade asked.

Kim's father turned and addressed the monitor, "Yes? And by the way, thanks for the help getting through that villain's lock on the computer systems."

"Not a problem; it was just a quantum-encrypted heuristically programmed algorithmic lock," Wade grinned, then added, as his expression grew less jovial, "If you're seeing movement on the Spider-Cam? I think you should know, the missing Kimmunicator is presently in orbit, approaching the space station."

"What?" Kim demanded. "How...? Bobo!" she realized. "Bobo took my Kimmunicator, which means Bobo's on the rocket!"

"Bobo?" Dr. Possible asked.

"Monkey Fist's son," Wade explained.

"That's definitely not good," Monique said quietly, rubbing the side of her jaw ruefully. "Is Fiske aboard too?"

"I checked the security footage when I made copies for GJ. If the time stamps are accurate on the security cameras, Fiske and the monkey ninjas were definitely still in the concourse when the rocket took off," Wade answered. "But Bobo ran away after he lost a fight to Fiske before that; I wasn't able to trace where he went, but if he was in the science lab, that would make sense - since it was intended to be sent to the space station, it wasn't directly tied into the Space Center security system."

"There's something else that's bugging me, too," Kim interjected. "What's up with monkey boy? First the thing with the hair, then the fight with Fiske, now this? If Monkey Fist is trying to confuse us, it's definitely working."

"Whatever's happening, we need to tell Frederick as soon as he docks," Dr. Possible said worriedly. "He's all alone up there with that... creature, and we won't have another launch vehicle ready for weeks." Taking a deep breath, he concluded, "You should go on home where it's safe, Kimmie-cub. There's nothing else you can do here; let your mother know I might be running late, though. I need to keep an eye on things here until we know more."

Despite her tension, Kim reluctantly went along with her father's instructions, knowing Frederick and his rocket were well out of reach. Without a launch vehicle, there was nothing she could do about the situation

Monique muttered under her breath, "I can definitely use a shower."

Kim agreed with the sentiment wholeheartedly. "I smell like monkeys, too," she whispered back. She wanted to stay to find out what the sitch was, but the need to wash the figurative and literal stink of monkeys from her body definitely took priority.

xxxXXXxxx

Frederick triggered the door to the science lab, and hit a switch. The overhead lights softly illuminated the cluttered science lab, while spotlights around the perimeter brought a number of testing stations into stark highlight. The room appeared to be deserted.

The simian astronaut entered the room slowly, all his senses peeled for signs of the intruder. He slowly crossed the room, but despite his attention, there wasn't a single indication that he wasn't alone.

On the far side of the room from where he entered, Frederick wrapped his tail securely around a support stanchion and pressed a large red button on the wall. **( Artificial. Gravity. Off. )** he announced, using the control unit on his arm.

From near the ceiling came a hint of panic. A subdued squeal, hastily masked, arose from the solar system model suspended from the roof of the lab complex.

Frederick had trained for the possibility of zero gravity conditions - and Bobo had not. As Frederick watched, Bobo's incautious movements sent him spiraling awkwardly up (in as much as "up" existed at this moment) towards the roof.

Bobo tried to land on the roof, but the move, which in a zone with normal gravity would have allowed him to alight without mishap, simply sent him spiraling awkwardly back the way he had come. He reached desperately for the rings of Saturn as he crossed the ecliptic plane of the model, but his frantically clutching fingers missed their plasticine target, and he spun closer and closer to what had been the ground before the artificial gravity control was cancelled.

Frederick, still anchored by his tail, delicately pushed off from the ground with a trained jump. He rose into the air, and his vector intersected with that of Bobo. He pressed some buttons on his wrist control, and even as the speaker announced **( Hold. My. Hands. )** he reached out for the flailing intruder.

His teeth gritted, but as he flailed uselessly in midair, Bobo reluctantly complied. One grasping hand caught Frederick's outstretched wrist, and as the simian astronaut shifted his weight, Bobo's orientation shifted so that he could catch the other.

Flexing his tail, Frederick drew them both down to the floor of the lab. Coming to a careful halt near the floor of the lab, Frederick pressed the red button once more and, as he released Bobo, typed to announce, **( Artificial. Gravity. On. )**

Bobo stared at the small monkey. Frederick smiled, and Bobo's brow creased in confusion.

Frederick pressed some buttons on his wrist, and as Bobo confusedly watched, he announced, **( Frederick. Friend. )**

**( Come. )** Frederick instructed, then led the way out of the science lab, beckoning the golden-furred creature to follow.

Bobo scratched his head briefly, then shrugged to himself and followed the astronaut out of the science lab.

xxxXXXxxx

At mission control in the Middleton Space Center, Dr. Possible watched on the monitors as Frederick ministered to the boggled Bobo. After first clearing the blood from the scratch wounds on his arms with disposable patches of gauze, the astronaut then sprayed the wounds with an antiseptic mist.

The spray must have stung, for Bobo attempted to yank his arm away, but Frederick held firm. **( No. Must. Heal. )**

To Dr. Possible's surprise, Bobo relaxed and let Frederick continue to work. "Are you seeing this?" he wondered aloud.

"I see it, but I don't believe it," Dr. Waters, his colleague at the Center, and the only one who had remained to help monitor the situation. "What is that thing?"

"Apparently he's the adopted son of one of my daughter's foes. If you check the security footage of our 'uninvited guests' at the Little Rocket Booster open house, you can certainly see the resemblance; it's little wonder he was so interested."

"Is it - he - human?" Waters wondered aloud in turn. "Some kind of missing link?"

"Hmm... Kimmie told me Monkey Fist caught him living wild in Tennessee. I guess I just don't really know," Dr. Possible explained.

"Frederick certainly seems to be able to control him easily enough," Waters noted, as he watched the astronaut finish bandaging his arms.

"And a good thing too," Dr. Possible agreed. "Even if we hurry, it will be weeks before we can mount a rescue mission. I'm just glad the military accepted the clearances Frederick broadcast even though the launch was so premature. They've gotten so touchy lately about unscheduled lift-offs," he chuckled embarrassedly. 

"Do you think it's Frederick himself who it - he - likes, or could it be any monkey?" Waters wondered curiously. 

"Well, with a 'father' like Monkey Fist - not to mention all those darned monkey ninjas, I suppose it's not really surprising that he's used to following a monkey's orders," Dr. Possible admitted. 

xxxXXXxxx

**( Sleep. Rest. Heal. )** Frederick instructed, patting an empty bunk and smiling at his surprise guest.

Bobo reluctantly climbed into the bunk. His eyes remained open as he watched Frederick move around the sleeping quarters, adjusting things, moving things, and doing other even less comprehensible things. As he watched, Bobo was blinking often, his eyes seeming to want to remain shut.

**( Sleep. )** Frederick repeated, rubbing Bobo's head gently, ruffling the soft mane of fur than covered it. He spread a light blanket atop Bobo's body, then turned out the light.

Soothed, Bobo's eyes closed and he quickly fell asleep, tired and confused by everything that had happened, but comforted by the small sounds Frederick made as he went about his duties.

xxxXXXxxx

**

To Be Continued...

**


End file.
